The clown's impact on the young residents of Welcome to Derry shapes them long into adulthood, transforming them into the very adults who perpetuate the community's pattern of animosity ongoing. The creature preys most easily on children from fractured households — children who often mature to replicate the identical behaviors as their guardians. But, the Hanlon family distinguishes itself as one of the few family unit that never splinters, which could clarify why Mike Hanlon, even after choosing to stay in the town, remains the sole member who never fully falls under Pennywise's sway.
Hanlon Household's Unique Resistance
In the fourth installment of Welcome to Derry, Leroy Hanlon at last grows more aware of the paranormal entities enveloping the community, especially when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family comprises some of the few adults who are cognizant that something is amiss with the town, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's use of it in the third episode. Later, Leroy spots one of Pennywise's signature inflated orbs outside his residence. The ability, alongside his inability to experience terror, along with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. But what if that psychic sensitivity is hereditary, and one of the reasons Mike is among the few adults in Derry who didn't lose themselves to the town's malevolence?
The boy is a member of the collective of kids at his educational institution being terrorized by the clown. All his school friends come from broken homes, with parents who don't believe they're being haunted. The cause Will is being haunted is due to the cruelty of the community, combined with his likely receptiveness to shine, which renders him vulnerable. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which contributes towards the household sensing anomalies exist about the locality from the onset. Additionally, they possess a good foundation that remains unbroken, in contrast to the residents who originate in the area, with bonds that have decayed internally.
Backstory Connections
Drawing from the It novel, we know the juvenile Will Hanlon will end up at the Black Spot, where the psychic will save him from a fire that the town bigots of the community will ignite. In the recent film, we observe that he has a boy named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a fire, with Leroy outliving his own child and adopting his grandchild. The public account in the film is that the parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in Welcome to Derry, that's hard to believe. Maybe the timid youth, once he grew up, turned to drink to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the rotten town affected him initially, with the hate group ultimately finishing the job it began long before. Whether through the fear of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, seeded by It, the creature in the end achieves the final victory on him.
The Father's Evolution
This chain of events would clarify how the elder Hanlon changes so drastically from what we witness in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his later years, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his discipline. Because he survived his own offspring, it's comprehensible to see such a drastic change. Nonetheless, his words hold greater significance since we are aware he's seen the clown's activities and the impacts they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we observe Mike hesitate to use a bolt gun on a animal at Leroy's farm. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and offers an analogy that results in a survival-of-the-fittest situation.
“You have two options you can be in this world. You can be out here like us, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he gestures to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to decide for you. Except you won't know it until you experience that projectile between your eyes.”
Looking back, this could represent a bit of prediction, something he wishes he had told his own child. Maybe he wishes he had acted differently in his past, but for certain factors, he was unable to avoid the sickening attraction of the town.
